Team 
Nagatoyumoto
黒木 涼 | RYO KUROGI
I was born in Miyazaki and spent my university years in Kagoshima. After graduation I spent eight years in structural and architectural design at a firm and earned my first-class architect license. Along the way I became curious about the field side of things—construction sites and operations—so when I saw the SOIL Nihonbashi demolition workshop on social media, I joined on a whim. That experience led me to Staple in 2023, where I focus on planning and development; today I also serve as the Area Manager for Nagato Yumoto. I love both the ocean and the mountains; at 32 I thru-hiked the John Muir Trail in the U.S., and I’m currently working on my surfing.
松本 拡 | Hiromu Matsumoto
I’m from Hyogo and grew up in Kansai. From elementary school through high school I was on the baseball team; these days my hobbies are the sauna and surfing. I started my career at a major hotel company and spent 11 years in rooms operations across three city hotels in Kobe, Osaka, and Tokyo. Looking for a more guest-centric style of service, I joined TRUNK(HOTEL) CAT STREET in March 2020 and later worked on the opening of TRUNK(HOTEL) YOYOGI PARK in July 2023. After 15 years on the floor, I moved to Staple in September 2024 to widen my scope and help create hotels from the planning and development stages.
近藤 将基 | MASAKI KONDO
I was born in Nagoya. I took a year off from university for a working holiday in Australia, and later backpacked around Southeast Asia and Europe. Those experiences showed me how guesthouses connect people in a simple, powerful way. I first learned about Staple through a podcast a friend sent me; a spontaneous visit to Setoda sealed it—I fell for the place and its people and decided to move. I’m now taking what I learned in Setoda to help build spaces in Nagato Yumoto, Yamaguchi. I love going for runs at sunset.
和田 太一 | Taichi Wada
I’m from Ube, Yamaguchi. After high school I moved to Tokyo, met people who pulled me into the culinary world, and fell for Italian cuisine, working my way through several restaurants. My hobby is eating my way through good places.
宮川 皓洋 | Koyo Miyagawa
I was born in Hachioji, Tokyo, and spent my university years in Hiroshima. I started out as a chef at a resort hotel in Onomichi, and through a fellow chef’s introduction became the chef at SOIL Nagato Yumoto. My hobbies are fishing and snowboarding.
藤永 敏和 | Toshikazu Fujinaga
I was born in 1969 in Ube, Yamaguchi. After leaving a vocational school in Kansai I worked in the service industry. At 40 I moved back to my home prefecture, managing facilities at a ryokan in Nagato Yumoto and later working the front desk at a ryokan in Hagi. I was drawn to the work around Yumoto Onsen, and after leaving my previous post I took the path that brought me to what I do today.
杖田 美穂 | Miho Tsueda
I was born and raised in Yamaguchi, and worked for over ten years as a physical therapist at a hospital in Nagato City. I’d long been interested in Staple’s hospitality projects, and when I heard SOIL was coming to Nagato Yumoto it felt like the right moment to make a change. Through a mutual friend I met GM Kuroki and joined the team. After more than a decade here, Nagato truly feels like a second hometown—I’m working to help more people discover what makes this place special.
児玉 剛 | Go Kodama
I was born in Nagoya and have been friends with Kondo from SOIL Nagato Yumoto for years. After high school I spent nine years at a local bakery. When Kondo invited me to join the restaurant team for the Nagato opening, I visited and was won over by the place and its people. I changed careers to pursue new experiences and connections, and now I’m channeling my bakery background into pizza—still honing the craft every day. I enjoy photography and camping.
佐々木 真実 | Mami Sasaki
I’m from Hanamaki, Iwate. I moved to Tokyo for university and researched LGBTQ rights in the workplace through graduate school. After graduating I joined an NPO and helped establish Japan’s first LGBT center. That experience led me into HR and general affairs at Hoshino Resorts, where I handled everything from recruiting to timekeeping—and during peak seasons, even shaped bread in the kitchen. After four years I wanted to return home someday with the skills to help revitalize my region, so I reached out to Staple directly. I ended up taking an unexpected path—first Setoda, then the Nagato opening—where I’m now learning hospitality on the ground.
西村 友邦 | Tomokuni Nishimura
I’m from Yamaguchi and grew up in Nagato. I spent four years in sales at an industrial hardware maker before my love of hiking took me to work at a mountain lodge in Nagano—and to walk the Shikoku Pilgrimage—living close to nature. Later, while working as a coffee barista, I looked for ways to connect people with forests and the outdoors. Around that time I met Kuroki, Matsumoto, and Kondo from Staple, and decided to join.
Naru Developments
早瀬 文智と岡 雄大によって創業された旅館及びホテルの企画・開発・運営会社。 日本各地へのチェーン展開ではなく、土地の声を聞きその場所が持つ歴史や風土、慣習に思いを馳せながら開発を行い、実が成るようにその場を育てていく運営を目指しています。
しおまち企画
「住みたいまち、しおまち」を目指す瀬戸田地域のソフトデベロッパー。 尾道市・地域DMOとともに「しおまちとワークショップ」を開催し、地域内外の人々や企業が加わり、地域課題の解決に向け、さまざまなまちづくりのアイデアを提案、実践してきました。2021年にSOIL Setodaを開業後は、シャッターが目立つしおまち商店街を中心に空き家のリノベや小商用の店舗区画と住宅を併設したユニットの開発を進めていくことで、街に多様性をもたらし、「すみたい街」であるための開発を行なっています。
Terrain
東京とカリフォルニアを拠点に調理器具の製作と自社出版等の活動をするクリエティブスタジオTerasuと共に創業。同じ価値観を持つ生産者、シェフ、デザイナー、アーティストといったあらゆる人々が、その土地の風土を食の観点から引き出すことを目的に集い、活動しています。時には環境再生型農業によって栽培された豆を専門に取り扱うコーヒーロースターを、SOILが展開する先々で飲食店を、そして時には独立した店舗を運営することもあれば、食材の研究開発も行います。
FERMENT
飲食・人・ホテルを通しそれぞれの手法で都市とローカルを構想する3社（Media Surf Communications inc. , Haku inc, , Staple inc.)が2019年11月に設立、2020年2月にオープンした日本橋兜町のマイクロ複合施設「K5」を企画・開発。現在はHOTEL K5の運営を行っています。“REVITALIZE THE CITY（街の再活性化）“のビジョンの下、街に強い点を打ち、この場所からユニークなカルチャーやコミュニティを生み出すことを目指します。
